


Winged

by HangerLane



Category: The Walking Dead - All Media Types
Genre: Daryl/OC - Freeform, F/M, Glenn friendship, Romance, Sexual Tension, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-02
Updated: 2015-08-02
Packaged: 2018-04-12 15:20:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4484405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HangerLane/pseuds/HangerLane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Janis Harper is the long standing best friend of Glenn. They managed to escape Atlanta together and join with the group. Janis has always been able to find the light side of the world, how will she cope in so much darkness.<br/>DARYL/OC<br/>Follows the TV timeline however will take heavy influence from the Comic Books</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The Georgia sun was beating down on the rooftop, bouncing off of the metal vents making the area seem even brighter and hotter than it was. Janis shielded her eyes as she looked over the city, or was what once the city she loved. 

"Is it gonna be much longer Glenn?" Whining had always been a favourite past time of Janis', Glenn hated it, Janis loved to annoy Glenn. 

Shhing came from Glenns direction as he looked at the ground below him. 

"I'm sure I heard something" he said, looking through the binoculars hanging around his neck. 

"Me dying of boredom." 

"Shut up Jay." 

"What you seeing Glenn?" T-Dog's voice echoed over the rooftop, louder than Janis' had been, she gave Glenn an annoyed look which he ignored. 

"A horse!" 

"What?!" Both T-Dog and Janis jumped up, running towards Glenn across the roof. 

"A fucking horse!! And there's a dude riding it." 

Janis couldn't believe what she was seeing. Trotting through the middle of Atlanta City, through broken down cars and dead bodies was a County Sheriff, riding a horse. 

"What do we do?" T-Dog was leaning over the roof, attempting to get a better look at the Lone Ranger. 

"What can we do? If we go down there we risk all our lives." 

"Blondie's right, we ain't 'bout to risk it all for some stupid cop." 

"No one asked Merle." 

"Ain't no one need to." 

"Everybody shut up." Glenn was looking more intently now, focused on the man's path through the city. "Shit...he's gonna meet the group." 

The group was what Glenn had been calling the ever increasing gang of Walkers nearing the centre of the city. Every run into the sprawling metropolis they had ventured on, the group had got bigger and bigger, Janis and Glenn had made every effort so far to avoid it. 

"We gotta do something." Glenn was running to the very edge of the roof now 

"Can't let ya do that." Merle had wandered over, dressed all in black his silver gun gleamed as he twirled it in his hand. 

"Merle, shut up." Janis threw him a look which he laughed at, still twirling his gun. 

"Jesus Christ." The man had met the horde now, they swarmed on him, making his horse topple, flinging him across the road. The Walkers all crowded around the horse, tearing it   
open, blood flying everywhere as they ripped its organs out. 

Everyone on the roof was silent now, watching the drama below unfold. The man took the opportunity, the Walkers were distracted by the horse. He scrambled under the army   
tank, abandoned at the side of the road. 

"Wha' the fuck is he doin'?" Merle practically shouted, hanging over the side of the building. 

"Surviving." Glenn answered, still staring intently at the tank. 

A single shot rang through the air, some walkers started to converge on the tank, distracted from the horse by the noise of the gunshot. 

"Don't sound like survivin' ta me...sound like he just took tha easy way out." 

Glenn was patting his legs, searching all his pockets. 

"This?" Janis held out the radio, Glenn grabbed it, practically dropping it on the way to his mouth. 

"Hey you. Dumbass." 

The whole group waited for a reply. When none came Merle tried to grab the radio from Glenn's hands, he had to run across the side of the roof to keep it. T-Dog held an arm out, bocking Merle from following him. Merle went to push him, his eyes wild as Heather followed Glenn across the rooftop. 

"Yeah, you in the tank...Cozy in there?" Glenn adjusted the cap on his head, still watching the tank from his new vantage point on the roof, no movement, discounting the walkers attempts to break in. 

Still nothing, Glenn took one more try "Hey, are you alive in there?" 

"Hello? Hello?" Glenn practically dropped the radio, quickly bringing it back to his mouth, everyone on the roof was crowded around him, waiting to hear what would crackle   
through next. Before he replied Glenn looked to Janis who gave him an encouraging look. 

"There you are. You had me wondering." Glenn always had a love for being dramatic. Janis was sure it was all the films he watched. 

"Where are you? Outside? Can you see me right now?" The voice came through the radio, panicked. 

"Yeah, I can see you." Glenn said, walking over to the very side of the roof, getting a better view. "You're surrounded by Walkers." He paused, again Janis could tell for dramatic   
effect. "That's the bad news." 

"There's good news?" The man on the radio didn't sound hopeful. 

"No." 

"Listen, whoever you are, I don't mind telling you I'm a little concerned in here." 

Merle was holding his hand out, making grabbing motions to Glenn who ignored him. 

"Oh man. You should see it from over here. You'd be having a major freak-out." T-Dog was smiling and shaking his head while Merle had given up and was now sat down, back   
against the wall, looking put out. 

"Got any advice for me?" The voice came again. 

"Yeah, I'd say make a run for it." Glenn was leaning over the side of the roof, stretching as far as he could to check both ways. 

"That's it? Make a run for it??" 

"My way's not as dumb as it sounds. You've got eyes on the outside here." Glenn gave a nod to the rest of the group which most people reciprocated, with the exception of Merle. 

"There's one geek still up on the tank but the others have climbed down and joined the feeding frenzy where the horse went down...With me so far?" 

"So far." He didn't sound sure at all, but at least he was still listening. 

"Okay, the street on the other side of the tank is less crowded. If you move now while they're distracted, you stand a chance...Got ammo?" Glenn was in full swing now, running to the ladder off the side of the roof, hanging from it to get a better view. 

"In that duffel bag I dropped out there, and guns." 

"Can I get to it?" Janis was in Glenns face, shaking her head before he could move an inch down the ladder. 

"Forget the bag, okay? It's not an option." He was smarter than Janis first thought. 

"What do you have on you?" 

"Hang on..." 

"Yeah." His breathy voice came through the radio again. 

"Yeah?" 

"I've got a Beretta with one clip...15 rounds." 

"Make 'em count." Glenn said, shuffling down the ladder as Janis followed him. "Jump off the right side of the tank, keep going in that direction. There's an alley up the street,   
maybe 50 yards. Be there." 

"Hey, what's your name?" 

"Have you been listening? You're running out of time." Glenn had no time for pleasantries. 

"Right." 

Glenn dropped to the roof further down, looking up at Janis he shook his head. 

"Stay here, no point scaring him, or getting all three of us killed." she nodded, Glenn ran off, jumping across the roof. 

Janis dragged herself back on to the roof, not keen on the idea of spending alone time with Merle. 

She dropped herself on the floor next to T-Dog, stretching herself out in the sun. 

"Why not come lie down over here Jay?" Merle was rubbing the gravel next to him, raising one eye brow. 

"How many times do I gotta tell you to fuck off Dixon?" He chucked hard, pushing himself up to look over the side of the roof. 

"Can't fuckin' see nothin'" he said, pacing the roof to see more of the street below. 

"Glenn said to wait, he'll be back." 

"Don' care what the fuckin' china man said." 

"His name is Glenn." 

"We should go, ain't no point hangin' round if they're dead." He was hanging over the side of the building again, aiming his gun at walkers and pretending to fire. "Reckon I can hit her from 'ere?" 

"Merle don't...what happened to a quick in and out trip?" 

"Ya boyfriend ruined that." 

"Glenn isn't my boyfriend." 

"Then why won't ya give Merle a little sugar huh?" 

"Just sit down Dixon." T-Dog was getting tired of him as well. 

"Ain't tellin' me wha' ta do." He said, aiming his gun again "Now, how much you got on me getting' a head shot of that slut acorss the road, the one in the short skirt." Janis and T-  
Dog ignored him, knowing that entertaining him was the worst plan. 

That's when he started shooting. 

"Merle!!! Merle stop shooting." 

He just laughed, and carried on firing, each shot hitting its target. 

"Hey, Dixon, are you crazy?!" Andrea called from the door, Glenn and the Sheriff behind her. 

Merle turned to them, laughing harder now. 

"Oh Jeez." Glenn sighed, looking to Janis who just shook her head. 

"Hey! Y'all be more polite to a man with a gun! Huh? Ah! Only common sense." He waved the gun above his head now, gesticulating madly around the roof. 

"Man, you wasting bullets we ain't even got!" T-Dopg was shouting over Merle who's laughing was just getting louder and louder "And you're bringing even more of them down on   
our ass! Man, just chill." Janis stood behind him trying to back him up without standing in Dixons way. 

"Bad enough I've got this taco-bender on my ass all day." Merle waved his gun in the direction of Morales standing in the doorway. "Now I'm gonna take orders from you? I don't think so, bro. That'll be the day." his raspy voice echoed around the roof, everyone but T-Dog stood still, trying to guage how badly Merle was reacting. 

"That'll be the day"? You got something - you want to tell me?" His chest was practically bumping Merles now. 

"Hey, T-Dog man, just leave it." Janis tried to grab his shirt from behind as he proceeded to push against Merle. 

"No." 

"All right? It ain't worth it." Janis managed to get in between the two, she switched between the two of them , trying to stop the fight. "Now Merle, just relax, okay? We've got   
enough trouble." 

"You want to know the day?" There was no stopping him. 

"Yeah." Or T-Dog. 

"I'll tell you the day, Mr.Yo. It's the day I take orders from a nigger." 

"Shit" Janis whispered under her breath, anything T-Dog did now was fair game. 

Everyone was shouting over each other now, as Dixon launched himself a T-Dog, both of their fists flying as Janis, Glenn and Andrea tried to pull them apart. 

Merle had kicked T-Dog to the ground, as he straddled him he aimed his gun at T-Dogs head. His eyes were darting around the roof, daring everyone to step closer "Yeah! All right! We're gonna have ourselves a little pow-wow, huh? Talk about who's in charge...I vote me." No one said a word as he paced the roof "Anybody else, huh? Democracy time y'all. Show of hands, huh? All in favor? Huh? Come on. Let's see 'em. Oh, come on. All in favor? Yeah. That's good." 

He was rambling now, his face was getting redder as he danced around the roof. 

"Now that means I'm the boss, right? Yeah. Anybody else? Hmm? Anybody?" 

"Yeah." The sheriff spoke up, his gun was aimed at Merles head now. 

"Who the hell are you, man?! Officer fuckin' friendly?" 

"Look here, Merle. Things are different now. There are no niggers anymore. No dumb-as-shit, inbred white-trash fools either. Only dark meat and white meat. There's us and the dead. We survive this by pulling together, not apart." It was a good speech. 

"Screw you, man." Merle didn't agree. 

"I can see you make a habit of missing the point." He was calm, which was goading Merle more. 

"Yeah? Well, screw you twice." He practically spat in the officers face. 

Janis had officially had enough, walking past Glenn He held out his hand to stop her. 

"Where you going?" 

"Don't really fancy watching the gun show." 

"We’re surrounded down there...need a way of getting out. Think of anything?" 

"I'll see what I can do." She walked past Andrea, affording her a smile which was reciprocated. She just heard Rick cocking his gun before she closed the roof door behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

Janis had hardly been downstairs ten minutes when she heard people crashing down after her. Morales, Glenn, Andrea, Jacqui and the Sheriff all came running through the door. She raised her eyebrow at Glenn, noting Merle and T-Dogs absence. 

"Rick handcuffed Dixon to the roof, for his own safety." Janis nodded, still worried about leaving T-Dog alone with Merle. 

"Rick." The Sheriff said, holding out his hand, Janis took it, smiling at the formal gesture. 

"Janis...or Jay. Jay." 

"How's that signal?" Glenn said, indicating the radio in Andreas hand. 

"Like Dixon's brain Weak." 

"Keep trying." Morales said from the door, leaning to try and see a way around the wall of walkers. 

"Why? There's nothing they can do. Not a damn thing." Jaqui was still at the bottom of the staircase, arms crossed in defiance. They carried on discussing plans to leave, Glenn walked over to Janis. 

"It's up to us to find a way out." Janis nodded, knowing that Glenn meant they had o do whatever they could to escape. Janis and Glenn had been running into the city for weeks, risking their lives multiple times...what was one more? 

"Good luck with that." Andrea called from across the room. "These streets ain't safe in this part of town from what I hear." 

"The streets ain't safe." Morales chipped in, echoing what Andrea said. 

"Now there's an understatement." Rick was standing, hands on his hips, his tongue darting out to wet his lower lip. 

"What about under the streets? The sewers?" Jacqui was suddenly alive, opening the door and rushing up, Glenn and Janis following her. 

"Oh man...." Glenn said, chasing Jacqui up the stairs. 

"Hey, Glenn, check the alley." Rick called from the bottom of the stairs, making his way up to join them. 

"You see any manhole covers?"Jacqui called to Glenn who was leaning over the side of the roof now. 

"No, must be all out on the street where the geeks are." Glenns voice was practically drowned out with all the Walkers groaning in the streets, gathered more around the building thanks to Merles outburst. 

"Maybe not...." Jacqui was leaning over the wall now, pointing at something in the streets "Old building like this built in the '20s Big structures often had drainage tunnels into the sewers in case of flooding down in the sub-basements." 

Glenn and Janis looked at Jacqui, mouths open "How do you know all that?" They both said in unison 

"It's my job...was. I worked in the city zoning office." 

They all ran as one down the stairs, leaving T-Dog confused behind them, Merle still shouting obscenities handcuffed to the roof. 

Down on the lower level of the store Janis, Glenn, Rick and Jacqui all stood around a manhole cover in the floor, all of them silent, waiting for the others to say something.   
Glenn confirmed it was the only one in the store. 

"We've been here a few times, sure we would have seen a huge 'EXIT THIS WAY INCASE OF ZOMBIES' sign." Ricks eyed met Janis' for a second whereas the other two ignored her. 

"Never needed to go down there before though. First time we bring a group, we're fucked." 

"No offense." Glenn added, giving Janis a look she'd seen a thousand times before. "If we need to go down this gnarly hole, fine but only if we do it. Me and Jay." 

"It's tight down there." Jacqui warned. 

"You calling me fat?" Glenn asked, while Jacqui just shook her head, her face saying better you than me. 

"If we run into something and have to get out quick, I don't want you all jammed up behind me getting me killed, we'll be fine, just the two of us." 

"You've got Merle's gun isn't it best if you're at the store, watching the doors?" Rick nodded at Janis, which she took as a good sign. 

"You've got your gun right?" Glenn asked, as Janis tapped the weapon in her pocket. "You be my wingman." 

"Always." 

"Jacqui stays here." Glenn said, pointing to the top of the ladder "Something happens, yell down to us, we'll be up." 

"Okay." Jacqui sounded unsure, but happy that she wasn't about to follow Janis and Glenn. 

"Okay, everybody knows their jobs." Rick said, nodding at everyone before heading towards the stores. 

Down in the sewers Janis kept her gun trained where Glenn was pointing the torch. 

"Can't believe they got us into the shit...literally." 

"Told you we shouldn't have brought Dixon." Glenn was shaking the torch around, unable to keep it steady as they waded through the water. 

"He was the first one to put himself forward. Everyone else just said yes because they felt sorry for us being stuck with...shit!" Glenn almost dropped the flashlight as a rat ran straight infront of him. 

"Want me to shoot it?" 

"Like you could hit it." 

They carried on for another ten minutes, slowly wading through the water, Glenn swinging the light upwards whenever he thought there might be an exit. 

"Yeah, we've got ourselves a sewer tunnel. Jacqui was right." Glenn said, shining the torch straight ahead of him, at a set of iron bars, crossed with no access. 

"Can we cut through it?" Janis asked, squinting as Glenn moved the torch around the sides of the tunnel 

" Yeah If we had a blowtorch and half a day, sure...Dale's hacksaw sure as hell won't do it." 

"Great." Janis said, as they turned around making their way back to the store. 

"Nothing?" Jacqui asked as they came out of the tunnel, shaking their heads. 

"Any other ideas town planner?" Glenn was squeezing out the ends of his jeans, looking disgusted.


	3. Chapter 3

The new plan was for Rick and Glenn to distract the walkers. Janis didn't even mind being left out of this one as she smeared Walker guts all over Glenns chest. 

"Think you could try to keep it away from my face/" Glenn said, the look of disgust making Janis laugh. 

"The worse you smell the safer you are. I'm just trying to save your life man." Janis laughed, as Glenn retched. 

"Oh, this is bad...this is really bad." Glenn said, holding his breath between words. 

"Think about something else...Puppies and kittens?" Rick suggested, looking close to vomiting himself. 

"Yeah...Dead puppies and kittens." T-Dog laughs, making Glenn promptly vomit. 

They stood in front of the door that lead the alley. Glenn's face was palid, Janis knew not just from being sick. 

"You good?" She asked, trying hard not to breathe in the scent. 

"Do I look good?" 

"Handsome as always. Stay safe." 

"Stay safe." Glenn said, before turning to Rick and nodding meekly. 

Janis stood, leg shaking uncontrollably on the roof, trying to catch a glimpse of either Glenn or Rick. 

"You come up here to uncuff me sunshine?" 

"I think I prefer you cuffed Merle." 

"Didn't know ya' was into the kinky stuff..why not come over here 'n show me how rough you like it." 

"You couldn't handle me Dixon. Shh...I think I see them." 

They'd told Merle the plan, he didn’t seem impressed at all. 

" That asshole is out on the street with the handcuff keys? " he said while pulling on the cuffs. 

He was visibly less impressed when T-Dog dangled the keys in front of his face. 

Janis was pacing along the rooftop when she felt the first spot of rain. 

"Shit." 

They all ran to the roof edge, trying to get a glimpse of the two men. Walkers still pounded the store doors, a huge group of them pressing against the glass, undeterred by the   
rain. Janis' eyes scanned the roads, while Andrea was looking intently through the binoculars. 

"There...there near the construction site." Andrea practically screams. 

Janis run towards her, getting a better view of where she's pointing. Without binoculars she can barely see them. Two figures backing away from a huge group of Walkers. 

Suddenly one of them leaps out, attacking a walker with an axe. The walker falls to the floor as everyone standing on the roof cheers. 

The whole group are on the edge of the roof now, minus Merle who is pulling on his cuffs hard, swearing as he does so. 

"Come on Glenn..come on." Janis whispers under her breath, watching the two men fight for their life. She recognises Glenn now, following him intently as he scales the fence of the construction site. They both manage to make it over, everyone cheers, T-Dog whoops while punching the air and Janis lets go of the breath she didn't know she was holding. They all continue to watch as Rick shoots at the huge crowd of walkers now gathered at the construction site. 

Minutes pass as Glenn is out of site, no doubt searching for the keys. He comes running back to Rick, grabbing him by the shoulder as the both head for the van, Janis finally looking away as the van speeds out of her eyesight. 

She immediately heads for the door, nothing but ensure that Glenn is alive on her mind as she practically jumps down the stairs, ignoring the group shouting behind her.   
Janis is at the back doors, she could still hear Walkers bashing the shutters and doors as she as she struggles to see through the small glass window. Without any idea how they'll   
escape she waits, knowing Glenn wouldn't leave them. 

The group joined her just as she heard the music. She looked around her as the group met them, they were all peering over the crowd of Walkers, trying to get a glimpse of where the music was coming from. The screech of tires was heard, as the music got louder the walkers started to disperse, distracted by whatever was making all the noise.   
Through the new thinning group of Walkers Janis can see a white van, she pushes against the door, shooting one of the walkers in the face as she runs towards the van, jumping in the front before even checking to see who was driving. 

Rick looked over at her, shouting for the others to get in. 

"I'm in!" T-Dog shouts, slamming the van door behind him. Janis looked behind her, counting heads. 

"Where's Merle?" She watched T-Dog who looked tremendously guilty. 

"I dropped the damn key." 

"Shit." Janis heard Andrea from the back of the van. She stuck her head out the van window, looking at the sea of Walkers they'd left behind them. There was no way of turning back now, it would be certain death for all of them. They'd made too much noise getting away. Bringing her head back in the van the whole group struggled to look at each other, guilt written over everyone's faces, their escape overshadowed by leaving Merle behind. 

"Glenn?" Janis asked, looking to Rick who just smiled and nodded at the red sports car speeding down the road ahead of them. They continued to drive, Rick following the red car   
in front of them, periodically checking his mirror, ensuring his passengers were safe. 

Now they had time Janis studied the man more closely, his stubble covered a strong jaw. His body looked weak however, he had obviously not fared well in the past weeks. 

"Hey...y'all right?" Janis asked, watching Ricks face drop. 

"Merle got left behind..." He faltered, unable to finish his sentence. 

"Nobody's gonna be sad he didn't come back. Except maybe Daryl." Morales said from the back of the van. 

"Daryl?" Rick looked at Janis. 

"His brother...yeah he's gonna be pissed. You locked the door though T?" 

"Course I did." 

"I'll go tomorrow...he'll be fine. Stop worrying, you saved all our asses." 

Rick didn't stop worrying, Janis could tell by his face, but continued to follow Glenn through the winding roads towards camp.


	4. Chapter 4

As soon as they hit camp Janis jumped out of the van, eyes finding Glenn instantaneously. Her feet moved underneath her, as she ran towards him, throwing her arms around his neck as he was trying to talk to Amy. 

"Hey...hey I'm okay. I'm okay." 

Janis didn't say anything, just grabbed him tighter as she could feel the laughter building in his chest, hugging her back as the rest of the group gathered around them. 

The van doors opened behind her and she heard everyone jump out of the van. Andrea running straight into Amy's arms as Dale watched on. Morales went straight to his family, being enveloped in hugs and kisses. Janis checked around the group for Daryl, no sight of him, he must still be out hunting. 

"You are a welcome sight." Dale said, after hugging Andrea he had wandered over to Janis and Glenn, pulling Janis into a hug as they both laughed "I thought we had lost you folks for sure." 

"How'd y'all get out of there anyway?" Shane called, fiddling with the cap on his head 

"New guy he got us out." Glenn said, looking behind himself to Rick still in the van. 

"New guy?" Shane was moving closer now, subconsciously shielding Carl and Lori behind him. 

"Yeah, crazy vato just got into town." Morales called over from his family, still embracing, his daughter resting on his hip. 

"Hey, helicopter boy! Come say hello." Glenn turned to the van, shouting loud enough for Rick to hear. 

"The guys a cop...like you." Morales told Shane as Rick emerged from the van. 

There was a minutes silence as Rick came in to view. You could feel the tension in the air change as Shane saw him, the looks on both men's faces were of shock. 

"Oh my God." Shane, who's eyes were searching Ricks, a look of complete confusion on his face. The silence following his statement caught Carl's attention. He looked up from embracing his Mother, and instantly hit the ground running. 

"Dad! Dad!" He was crying and laughing and smiling. His arms caught Ricks neck while Rick lifted him, his eyes on Lori behind Shane. 

"Carl." He said finally, burying his head in the boys hair. Lori walked over now, still in shock as she clutched onto Rick. 

Janis looked at Glenn who's face wasn't dissimilar to hers. A look of confusion. 'Dad?' She mouthed at Glenn who just shrugged at her. 

"I can't believe I've found you...I just can't believe..." Lori was shushing him, her hands running through his hair. Shane stood awkwardly next to them, one hand still fiddling with the cap on his head. 

Janis let them have their reunion, knowing how much this must mean. 

Dale came up behind her, a huge smile on his face as he watched the embracing family. Carl was laughing louder now as Rick placed the hat in his hand on his head, it slipped over his eyes slightly. 

"Man...man I...I don't know what to say." Shane was approaching the three of them properly now, his hand on Rick's shoulder. 

"Don't need to say anything brother. You've saved my family, saved them when I couldn't, saved them for me. Thank you." 

The four of them looked around now, their bubble of being reunited burst. 

"I'm..." Rick started, but Lori stepped in front of him, addressing the group she already knew. 

"Everyone...this is my husband, Rick." 

"Hi Rick!" Janis shouted, while he laughed behind Lori. 

"Man...you shoulda said, I mean 'course you didn't know. How could you? I just...what are the chances?" 

"Slim...really, really slim." He said, smiling down at his son. 

After much celebration and a little more hugging, Janis retreated to her tent, completely worn out from a full day in Atlanta. Taking of her dirty clothes, Glenn barged in. 

"Hey, heard of knocking?" 

"Funny." 

Janis continued to strip as Glenn sat on his side of the tent, still dressed in clothes that smelt distinctly of Walker. 

"You're not gonna change?" 

"What are you going to do about Dixon?" 

"What can I do? He's handcuffed to a roof Glenn." Janis pulled on a very worn flannel shirt, which was only slightly cleaner than the clothes she'd just taken off. 

"Not that Dixon." 

"Oh...Daryl. Why's it gotta be me?" 

"He likes you." 

"That's yet to be proven." 

"You talk to him." 

"I talk to Ed Peletier, it doesn't mean I like him." 

"Janis." he never called her Janis, he was serious.

"Fine...fine, but whoever tells him, it’s not gonna be pretty. Merle will be fine anyways. Just a little pissed off." 

"Oh yeah, what's better than a methed out, pissed off redeck with easy access to guns." 

Later that evening they were all sat around campfires, Janis was sat next to Glenn, hair wet from washing it earlier she relished in the smell of the smoke mixing with the Georgia   
summer air. 

Rick had just finished explaining how he had felt, waking from his coma to find the whole world turned, disorientated and scared was how he described it. 

"Mom said you died." Carl said, sat next to his Dad, Sheriff hat still sitting securely on his head. 

"She had every reason to believe that." Rick said, looking at Carl, no hint of anger in his voice. "Don't you ever doubt it." 

"When things started to get really bad, they told me at the hospital that they were gonna medevac you and the other patients to Atlanta, and it never happened." 

"Well, I'm not surprised after Atlanta fell." 

"Yeah..." Lori trailed off, still looking lovingly at her husband. 

Rick went on to thank Shane, over and over for saving his family, extending the thank you to the group for keeping them safe. 

Suddenly Shane was on his feet, marching over to Carol and her husband Ed. 

"Hey, Ed, you want to rethink that log" Shand stood over Ed, the fire flickering over his face, making it look even more menacing. 

"Here we go." Janis whispered, making Glenn laugh. Ed and Shane butted heads on a regular basis. Shane was the group leader, who always knew the best plan of action. He was the one to find this quarry, lead a few people stuck on the highway to it. Ed was stubborn, always thought he knew better and rarely did. They argued for a minute or so, Ed finally giving in and telling Carol to put out the fire. 

Shane came back over, a smug look on his face as he sat back down, looking at no one but Lori who wasn't looking too impressed. 

"Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon? He won't be happy to hear his brother was left behind." Dale asked, Janis audibly groaned, Glenn elbowed her in the ribs. 

"I said Jay would do It." Andrea and Amy laughed, Janis shot them a look which made them laugh harder. 

"No...no I'll tell him." T-Dog raised his hands in defeat "I dropped the key. It's on me." 

"I cuffed him. That makes it mine." Rick still felt guilty, Janis could hear it in his voice. 

"Guys, it's not a competition. Jay said she would anyway." 

"I have a gun Glenn." 

They continued to discuss it, which ended in them discussing if Merle could survive the night. 

"It's not enough to break through that Not that chain, not that padlock. My point Dixon's alive and he's still up there, handcuffed on that roof. That's on us." 

Everyone was silent after that, the idea that they'd left one of their group, however volatile, handcuffed to a roof to fend for himself, made everyone feel a little guilty. They all   
broke away after that. Saying their goodnights. Rick gave Glenn one more thank you and a one armed hug before he went into Lori's tent.


	5. Chapter 5

Janis woke to Glenn pulling the zip closed on the tent. Groaning she turned over in her sleeping bag. She had always hated camping, the moisture that had formed on the inside of the tent was dripping down, making the tent feel hotter than it already was. The sun shone brightly through the material of the tent, giving everything in sight a sickly green glow.   
Following Glenn out of the tent she stretched in the morning sun. Lifting her arms over her head, T-Dog smiled at her from the back of his car, sorting through supplies. Stretching further, Janis felt her t-shirt ride up over the waistband of her shorts, relishing the feeling of sun on her stomach. 

"Mornin' T!" she yanwed 

"G'morning missy...you comin' into the city today to get Dixon back." Janis liked T-Dog. He was realistic and always made her laugh. 

"That the plan? Is Daryl back?" 

"Not yet, still hunting. Even Dale hasn't seen him." Janis nodded, heading over to the RV she saw Carol ringing out Ricks police uniform. 

"You eaten?" 

"Yeah...there's coffee, it might be cold." 

"Sounds good...ya need some help?" 

"Just gonna let this dry, I'm fine sweetie." 

Janis climbed into the RV, grabbing the now cold pan of coffee, she carefully poured what was left into a mug. Jumping down the last step, standing on her toes she put the coffee   
on the highest rung of the ladder she could. Climbing past it, being extra careful not to knock it off she got to the roof of the RV. Picking the mug back up she turned to Dale. 

"Morning!" 

"How'd you sleep?" 

"Good? I guess?" Dale laughed, placing the binoculars back over his eyes and scanned the area. "What about you?" 

"I got my time." 

"Enough?" Dale ignored her "Seen anything?" Janis asked, sitting down next to Dale and taking a sip from her mug. It was cold and bitter and Janis loved it. 

"You mean Daryl or Walkers?" 

"Either? Both would mean bad news at the moment." 

He nodded. They were silent as Dale continued to carefully search the area through his binoculars. They sat there till Janis finished her coffee, asking Dale if he needed anything before she left, he just smiled and shook his head. 

Back down on the ground everyone was working hard. Janis got breakfast ready for the people who hadn't eaten yet. If she didn't force him, Glenn wouldn’t eat. He'd always make some excuse, to ensure everyone ate before him. Grabbing one of the tins of fruit and a cereal bar she made her way over to Glenn who was admiring his new car. 

"Catch." Glenn didn’t look up and the can hit him in the stomach. 

"She's beautiful." He said, not even reacting to the impact. 

"She?" 

"Yeah..." 

"You know they're gonna rip her apart." Janis said, opening the cereal bar, taking a bite before handing it to Glenn. 

"Huh?" He took the bar, taking a bite, still staring wistfully at the dodge challenger. 

"It's not practical. It has four seats...barely. No storage room...RV needs new parts, bad on mileage, loud...I could go on." 

"But...but..." 

Glenn looked at Janis now, she could see real hurt in his eyes, they flickered over all the vehicles in the quarry, landing last on Janis' truck. 

"Hey now...don't bring Leonard into this. I can sleep in him, hell, four of us could. He's being used as storage. He pulls his weight." Janis' looked fondly at her beat up Ford Ranger, she'd loved it for years and it had proved the perfect vehicle for surviving an apocalypse. 

Glenn ignored her, deciding to take his can of peaches into the red car and eat in there instead. 

Janis walked away, leaving Glenn to enjoy the last few hours with his car. She grabbed her and Glenns washing, asking around to see if there was anything else she could take. No one had a lot, most people took care of their own. Popping her head into the Dixon's tent she saw the two sides. Daryl's clothes thrown haphazardly into one corner while Merles were folded neatly in stacks. Grabbing whatever looked dirty, Janis threw them in the bucket and headed to the lake. 

Shane was there, his back turned to Janis as she approached the lake. Scrubbing hard at the t-shirt in his hands. 

"Morning!" Janis shouted, dropping the clothing to the floor in front of the waters edge. 

She saw Shane jump, dropping his t-shirt, swearing loudly as he whipped round. 

"Jesus...Janis. You scared the shit outta me." 

"Sorry...you okay?" 

"Yeah...yeah just wasn't payin' attention." 

"Shane not on high alert..that's a new one." Janis studied Shane as he stood, shirtless in the lake. His chest rising and falling quickly as his breathing went back to normal. Shane was always on high alert, he put everyone in the groups safety above his own and treated Carl as his own. Looking at him now, he was unarmed and on his own. 

"You said always go to the quarry in pairs." 

"Needed a wash." 

"Right." 

Janis left him to it, wading into the lake just far enough to fill the bucket with water she took it to the edge of the lake. Taking the soap she started to scrub out the stains. Janis was sure she'd become an expert at removing dirt and blood from Jeans now. Every time she finished washing an item she layed it out on the rocks to dry.   
While she was doing this Shane still stood in the lake, occasionally making a splash before going back to scrubbing his one t-shirt. 

Janis soon finished, letting the clothes dry for ten minutes she sat out in the sun, being careful not to face Shane as he had his mid morning breakdown. 

It was only 20 minutes before she heard Shane exiting the lake. Without even saying a word he grabbed her bucket, turning to fill it from the lake and walking off, towards camp, still silent. Checking the clothes, which were mostly dry Janis followed him, joining the camp in time to hear Shane tell Carol to boil the water before usage. 

Glenn wandered over to her, a solemn look on his face. 

"They rip it apart?" He nodded. 

"Completely?" 

"All the bits that matter. Rick said I could get a new one." 

"I'm sure we will Glenn..." She was cut off by the screams of Sophia and Carl echoing through the camp.


	6. Chapter 6

Janis and Glenn ran towards the sounds, the rest of the camp doing the same. Jacqui ran out infront of them, followed by Carl and Sofia. She nodded at Jacqui who nodded back, signifying that they were all okay, Janis continued past the kids who were being fussed over by their Mothers. 

In a small clearing on the side of the woods there was a deer, lying dead on the floor, a Walker kneeling over it, pulling its insides out, devouring them. 

"Eugh." Glenn pushed his face into the material of his sleeve, stopping himself from being sick. 

Janis quickly spotted the bolts sticking out of the deers hide, knowing that meant Daryl wasn't far behind. The men of the camp quickly converged on the walker, hitting it with their weapons, beating it across its head. Finally ended by Dale decapitated it, they all stood around, just staring. 

"It's the first one we've had up here. They never come this far up the Mountain." Dale stood over the walkers body, his face grim. They had been extraordinarily lucky, the rest of the group rarely ventured away from the Quarry, the only time Janis had been in contact with walkers was when she went on runs into the City with Glenn. 

"Well, they're running out of food in the city, that's what." Janis turned to see Jim standing behind him, looking down at the headless walker. 

There was a crack from the woods, as the trees started to rustle everyone in the clearing raised their weapons, Shane first in line to shoot whatever came through the trees. 

Daryl. 

He stood, a dozen squirrels hung over his shoulder, his crossbow hung carelessly at his side, looking as pissed off as ever. 

"Son of a bitch." He said, at the sight of the walker and deer on the floor "That's my deer! Look at it. All gnawed on by this," he was kicking the walker between words "filthy, disease-bearing, motherless poxy bastard! Calm down, son." And ended it with one last, hard, kick. 

"That's not helping." Dale said, trying to calm Daryl down. 

"What do you know about it, old man?" It didn't work "Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to "On Golden Pond". I've been tracking this deer for miles."   
Janis looked at the deer, its hide covered in bites, its stomach wide open with its insides hanging out "Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison...What do you think? Do you think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?" 

"I would not risk that." Shane stepped in, giving Daryl a wary look. 

"That's a damn shame. I got some squirrel About a dozen or so." He said, lifting the line of them off of his back. "That'll have to do." 

"Oh God." Andrea almost screamed as the walker head came to life, groaning and trying to snap at their heels. 

"Come on, people." Daryl yelled, aiming his crossbow one handedly at the head "What the hell? It's gotta be the brain." He fired, stopping the groaning swiftly. 

"Don't y'all know nothing? Merle! Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up." He stalked off, ignoring everyone in the clearing, kicking the walkers   
body once more as he left. 

"Ah shit." Janis mumbled. "This ain't gonna be good." 

"You think?" Glenn followed Janis as she ran to keep up with everyone. 

"Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you." Shane shouted after him, as if that was going to help. If there was one thing Daryl hated it was authority, which Shane radiated. 

"About what?" He turned towards them, his eyes meeting Janis' before his attention was back to Shane 

"About Merle...There was a There was a problem in Atlanta." Everyone gathered round now, all behind Shane while Daryl stood alone. 

"He dead?" The forced calm of Daryls voice was obvious. 

"We're not sure." 

"He either is or he ain't!" The forced calm was all gone now, as he grabbed his crossbow with both hands. 

Quietly Janis moved around the group, putting herself not between Shane and Daryl, but further out, making sure that if needed, Daryl at least had someone to hold him back, she didn’t fancy Shane's chances in this fight. 

"No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it." Rick stepped in now, his voice similar to Shane's, he even mirrored his ex-partners body language, raised palms as if he was in a hostage situation. 

"Who are you?" Daryl spat. 

"Rick Grimes." 

"Rick Grimes..." Daryl said his name sarcastically "you got something you want to tell me?" 

"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal." Short and simple. "He's still there." 

"Hold on." His eyes narrowed as he studied the crowd "Let me process this. You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there?!" 

"Yeah." 

Daryl threw the line of squirrels at Rick, dropping his crossbow as Shane pounced on him. Janis didn't even bother interferring, if Shane wanted a black eye and bruised ribs she'd leave him to it. 

There were grunts and shouts as the two men fought, the rest of the group stood around watching in horror as Rick leaped forward, trying to pull Shane from Daryl. 

"You'd best let me go!" Daryl snarled as Rick helped Shane get him to the floor. 

"Nah, I think it's better if I don't." 

"Choke hold's illegal." Daryl grunted from the floor. 

"You can file a complaint." 

"Come on, man." 

"We'll keep this up all day." 

"Rick...c'mon this ain't helping anything." Janis looked at him, imploringly as he finally tapped Shane's shoulder. 

They were finally able to calm Daryl down, Shane got off him but not before giving him a shove, leaving him lying on the floor. 

Daryl wasn't happy, he didn't listen to anything the group had to say, which Janis predicted, and wasn't impressed by any of their excuses, which she also predicted. 

"Hell with all y'all! Just tell me where he is so's I can go get him." He finally shouted, grabbing his crossbow from the floor, ready to walk into Atlanta if he had to. 

"We'll show you." Janis finally spoke up. 

Daryl turned on her, his eyes narrowed as he stretched a muscle in his shoulder. 

"He'll show you." Lori came behind Janis now, nodding at her husband. 

This seemed to placate Daryl, if only slightly, who stalked towards his tent, mumbling as he did. 

"That went well." Glenn whispered, now behind Janis. 

"Actually, for Daryl, that was pretty good." She carried on watching his tent, as Glenn was talking behind her, she wasn't listening. 

"Oh just go and fucking talk to him." She was already doing it, waving her hand behind her as Glenn told her to be careful. 

She stood outside of his tent, not wanting to just walk in. 

"Daryl...Daryl?" She pulled back the tents zip, standing in the doorway she couldn't help but stare. Daryl stood there, halfway through changing his shirt, his skin shined with sweat as he ripped of the old dirty sleeveless shirt. 

"Do you ever wash?" 

"Do you ever knock?" 

"Knock knock." 

"Fuck off." Janis was used to this from Daryl, this was how he communicated. 

"You alright?" 

"What do you think." 

"We're gonna go get him." 

"Ya' think tha' makes me feel better?" He pulled on a shirt that Janis had washed this morning, not commenting on it being clean or perfectly folded at the foot of his bed. 

"No. But at least their trying." 

"Tryin'? Maybe they shoulda tried not leave him for dead." 

"Merle was being a dick. A methed out, drugged up dick." 

"Why'd you come in here again?" He dropped onto his bed, fiddling with his knife. 

"To make sure you were okay?" 

"Well ya' sure doin' a stand up job."


	7. Chapter 7

"Lookin' good Officer!"Janis called over to Rick, who was now wearing his clean uniform, he smiled at Janis, something that disappeared from his face as Shane approached him, looking angry, as always. 

"So that's it, huh? You're just gonna walk off? Just to hell with everybody else?" He was in Rick's face, throwing his arms around. 

"I'm not saying to hell with anybody, not you, Shane, Lori least of all." Rick managed to stay calm. 

"Tell her that." 

"She knows." 

"Well, look, I don't, okay, Rick? So could you just, could you throw me a bone here, man? Could you just tell me why? Why would you risk your life for a douche bag like Merle   
Dixon?" 

"Hey, choose your words more carefully." Daryl was behind him now, looking ready to rekindle their fight from earlier. 

"No, I did." The two men squared up to each other "Douche bag's what I meant." 

"Hey Shane, leave it for once?" Janis' hand curled into the fabric of Daryl's shirt, holding him back, just incase. 

"Merle Dixon The guy wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dying of thirst." 

"That ain't leaving it Shane." He gave her a look which Janis assumed was supposed to be intimidating. 

"What he would or wouldn't do doesn't interest me. I can't let a man die of thirst. Thirst and exposure...We left him like an animal caught in a trap. That's no way for anything to   
die, let alone a human being." Shane got angrier with every sentence Rick said. 

"So you and Daryl, that's your big plan?" Lori asked, sounding genuinely concerned about her husbands welfare, left alone in the City with Daryl. 

"Ain't just him and Daryl." 

They all turned to her now, Rick looked surprised, Shane still looked pissed. 

"You too Jay? You so fucking stupid ya' gonna risk your life for some redneck, backwoods drug addict? How much weed did Dixon sell ya huh?" 

"Yup, Glenn too." She said, ignoring his second question. 

"Ahhh what? You said I could have a day off Jay." 

"Changed my mind." 

"You're gonna risk four men..." 

"One woman." Shane ignored her. 

"No...four men." T-Dog was with them now, standing behind Janis, his arms crossed. 

"My day just gets better and better, don't it?" Daryl kicked at the dirt. 

"You see anybody else here stepping up to save your brother's cracker ass?" 

"Why you?" 

"You wouldn't even begin to understand. You don't speak my language." 

Shane started to rant, as he did Daryl turned on Janis, fully taking her in as he slowly shook his head, indicating, she was sure, that there was no way in hell Janis was going into   
Atlanta. Behind them she could hear Shane still going on, but was silenced when Rick mentioned the guns he'd left in Atlanta. 

"What?" Janis asked Daryl. 

"You ain't comin'" he said as the rest of the group argued about their plan, Janis started to walk over to her tent. 

"You gonna stop me?" 

"If I have ta." His eyes were narrowed as Janis stuffed water bottles into her backpack. 

"I've got just as much reason as those guys to save Merle, and I've been into the City more." 

"Four's plenty." 

"Then why don't you stay here." She walked past him, leaving him standing near her tent, hand scratching the back of his head. 

She climbed into the back of the cube van while everyone was saying their goodbyes, giving a quick wave at Dale who was trying to get her attention. Darly jumped into the front   
seat, he didn’t have anyone to say goodbye to either. 

"Get out." 

"Nope." Daryl just sighed. 

He punched his fist into the horn "C'mon let's go!" He shouted at the group, Glenn clamboured into the back of the van, shooting Janis a look as he did so. The group carried on talking, much to Daryl's annoyance. 

"HEY!" He revved the trucks engine as T-Dog joined them in the back of the van. 

"He letting you come?" 

"What's this about letting me do anything? I'm not a kid." 

"She ain't comin'" Daryl called from the front. 

"I'd pay to see you stop her man." T-Dog laughed as he winked at Janis, Daryl didn’t respond as Rick finally got into the passenger seat. 

"You sure about this Jay?" Glenn asked her under his breath as they set off. 

"What the fuck Glenn? How many times have we gone into the City?" 

"S'different." 

"How's it different." 

"We've never been in the City with two angry rednecks before." 

"I heard that chink." 

"He's Korean" Janis said at the same time as Glenn. 

"Ain't matter what he is, you ain't comin." Daryl stopped the van at the edge of the clearing, hand resting on the back of Rick's headrest, looking at Janis in the back of the van. 

"Well I'm not getting out of the van, so either you sweet talk these two lovely men to get me out, or you come get me out yourself, either way, I'll put up a fight, wasting precious   
time we could be spending saving your fucking idiot brother." 

Daryl's tongue pushed at the inside of his cheek as he glared at Janis through the seats. 

"She good?" Rick asked. 

"She's fine." He carried on driving, still shooting Janis' annoyed looks as he did. 

The ride wasn't awkward, but there wasn't a lot of talking, Glenn kept giving Janis questioning looks as they drove towards Atlanta, which Janis promptly ignored, choosing instead   
to watch the highway be speed underneath them out of the windscreen. 

They finally stopped, not driving into the centre of Atlanta but stopping against a chain link fence, leaving the van safely outside of the Walker infested City. 

Janis was in front with Glenn, she had her gun at her hip but continued to carry her aluminum baseball bat in her hands. 

"The geeks can't get at him. Only thing is gonna get through that door is us." She heard T-Dog behind her, Daryl just scoffed as he carried on walking, crossbow aimed in front of   
him the whole time. 

"Glenn..." Rick called, leaving Janis upfront as he fell back in line with the Sheriff. 

"Wha' ya gonna do with that bat huh? Home run?" 

"Bat isn't gonna run out of bullets...or bolts." She said nodding to Daryls crossbow. 

"Ya fuckin' crazy y'know that?" 

"Why?" 

"Comin' out into the City..." 

"Done it before." She interrupted him. 

"S'different." Janis was about to ask him how when she was stopped by Glenn calling her name. 

"Plan?" She asked. 

"Yeah...we're gonna get Merle first." 

"Damn straight." Daryl called over, not bothering to join them. 

"Guns after, we'll just be doubling back otherwise." 

"It's been a day, hopefully the group would have moved on a bit, we'll be able to get past without too much issue." Rick said, Glenn nodding along. 

"And if they haven't moved?" T-Dog asked. 

"We fight through." Janis answered, getting a nod from Daryl who had already started moving, disappearing into an alley ahead. 

"Hey! Hey, Dixon, do you even know where you're goin'?" 

"Don't need ta', I'm assumin' that's the buildin'?" He said, pointing ahead at, the department store they had indeed left Merle handcuffed to the roof. 

Janis swallowed. The group had moved on, there was only about quarter of the walkers left surrounding the building. That was still more than they wanted to face. The clawed at the walls and doors, still trying to get at the faint traces of human scent. 

"Back door?" Glenn asked 

"Back door." Janis nodded.


End file.
